Adventure Day One

February 1, 2010 –Funny how life flies by when you are living it –we go through cycles of awareness in our lives.  What ever worries us takes our focus, but what delights us can distract our hearts and bring us joy – if only for a moment.  As humans we can handle more than we can imagine, our challenges can be overwhelming, and yet our attitude can get us through anything. 

As we begin to share the next phase of our adventure, we share with you what has delighted us this past year.

Delighted by…a new awakening ~ Deepak Chopra http://www.chopra.com//dailydevotion

If you are lucky enough in your journey to take a yoga class, learn to listen to your own breathing, or find a snowflake obsidian stone which is said to enable your mind to connect with your emotions, take the opportunity to enlighten your mind and venture into a new level of healing.

Delighted by…a new partnership ~ KRobins Designs http://krobins.site.aplus.net/cgi-bin/mivavm?/Merchant2/merchant.mvc+Screen=PROD&Store_Code=KRD&Product_Code=Journey&Category_Code=SS

If you are lucky enough in your journey to find a soul who is creative and willing to design something with you that expresses a symbol of inspiration, take the opportunity to co-create a simple but powerful pendant, for us it is the “Journey’ necklace.

And Delighted by…a new beginning~ Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventure-Day-One/305558073372?ref=mf

If you are lucky enough in your journey to share your life with family and friends, then join Facebook and embrace the journey and continue to share the adventure with us.

Now, back to the journey…

When we last wrote about Rickey’s adventure it was Christmas Eve 2002.   Although the word was passed that Rickey’s leukemia was in remission, remission doesn’t mean you are home free, you continue to receive chemotherapy in what is referred to as consolidation treatment.  If he fell out of remission, the doctors said that Rickey’s chances of survival would be half the length of time he had remained in remission.  All we knew was we weren’t out of the woods yet.  The time has come to write the rest of the story…

January 3, 2003 9:38 AM

Rickey’s ADVENTURE UPDATE

As you’ve probably heard, I was re-admitted to the hospital at 6:00 am Christmas morning with a fever of 104.5, I was a bit delirious to say the least. They say I wanted to share my chest PICs with the patient across the hall, always a friendly neighbor.   Well, I quickly recovered from that and finished out this round of Chemotherapy and follow-on last night when they discharged us at 6:00pm, about 3 days early, another surprise release; we weren’t expecting it until Sunday.  My numbers were all high enough to get my release for two weeks at home to recover from this first round of consolidation.   PJ and I will make several visits to the doctors during these two weeks, then return for round two of the consolidation therapy.  I gain stamina each day, but must rest about every 3 hours.

Some of you may have heard this was the last round of therapy.  Well, that’s what we thought and that’s what the Senior Doctor on Staff told us, but she visited us late last week to say she was misinformed and the regular routine was, chemotherapy and three rounds of consolidation.  That’s when we found out they only get about two AML patients a year and don’t have a lot of experience with the routines.  C’est la vie ~ Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

Rickey was nicknamed the “patient patient” – and this was just another example why he was referred to in that way.  No matter what the journey sent his way, he was accepting and continued without fail to be positive.  What ever worries us takes our focus, but what delights us can distract our hearts and bring us joy – if only for a moment.  The fact that Rickey was resting at home was his delight, neither of us really understood the toll these “routines’ would cause to Rickey’s body, but for now he was home.  What are you aware of today, what are you worried about, what brings you joy?

Until our next blog – remember life is an adventure, embrace the journey.  You can make a difference one day at a time. 

Share your adventure with us!

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December 25, 2008 –Home is where the heart is, or that is how the saying goes, but when you are diagnosed with cancer, the hospital is the last place you want to call home on Christmas.  That was the dilemma Rickey faced on Christmas Eve in 2002.  Although the word was passed that Rickey’s leukemia was in remission, remission doesn’t mean you are home free, you continue to receive chemotherapy in what is referred to as consolidation treatment.  On December 10^th, 2002, Rickey started his first consolidation treatment, the first of many to help insure his remission would be long-lasting.  If he fell out of remission, the doctors said that his chances of survival would be half the length of time he had remained in remission.  This uncertainty kept the doctors debating just how many consolidation rounds Rickey would go through – right now it didn’t matter, all we knew was we weren’t out of the woods yet.

Rickey writes December 17, 2002 10:30 AM

Since we last wrote life has been mostly smooth sailing.  After chemotherapy ran from December 10th-Decemeber 14, I was able to start to recover and spend 10 days enjoying the comforts of home at home.  It was a pleasure!!  The 4 day Hydac consolidation therapy ended Saturday morning.  They decided to skip the 2 day chemotherapy “blue stuff” because it was harsh on my heart, and they are a little concerned it’s taken some abuse.  To our surprise they sent us home awaiting neutropenia, and as long as I don’t run a fever or other strange symptom I can stay at home while it runs its course.  PJ and I drive 45 minutes each way to the hospital every other morning to provide blood samples; guess they could readmit me then if they want to, but for now I’m at home.  I feel much better at home than at the hospital and get much more rest. After this is over, I’m basically done until something changes.  I’m feeling good, I am neutropenic, which causes some slippage in my skills, but am so much happier at home.  I’m below 188 pound.  That’s a 30 pound loss!

PJ remembers December 25, 2002 3:00AM and writes

“I’ll be home for Christmas”, Rickey repeated over and over again during the month of December 2002.  Consolidation treatment was not a familiar journey, but we had battled this disease for almost three months, and Rickey felt confident that we knew enough to get him safely past Christmas at home – Rickey really wanted to spend Christmas at home.  Unfortunately, you don’t always get what you want, and this time Rickey was really pushing his luck.  On Christmas Eve Rickey started slowing down, you could see it in his eyes he was very tired.  He refused to have his temperature taken, you see if it was spiking he would need to return to the hospital and he so desperately wanted to stay home, just one more night.  The effect of the chemotherapy was pushing him deeper into neutropenia and he didn’t want to admit it.  Once your blood cells drop and your fever starts to rise, you need to be at the hospital.  Reluctantly, after weakly sliding past midnight and into the early hours Christmas morning Rickey accepted the fact that his fever had spiked, which was our signal to return to the hospital to finish his recovery process.  Early Christmas morning we traveled to Bethesda, just in time.  When we arrived Rickey was delirious, having difficulty answering basic questions – he wanted so desperately to spend Christmas at home that he almost compromised is own health.

Being home is important at the holiday time; spending time with loved ones in familiar surroundings rejuvenates our spirit to give us the strength to face the year ahead.  May you travel home this holiday season either in person, through phone conversations or if so, only in your dreams!

Until our next blog – remember life is an adventure, embrace the journey.  You can make a difference one day at a time. 

Share your adventure with us!

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December 23, 2008 – This is the time of year when traditions abound, each family shares the holidays in their own special way, but one thing remains constant – gifts.  Some families pick a name and buy one special present and others pile the presents around the tree, no matter the tradition the spirit is the same – sharing with those we love.

Rickey writes

A gift can come in different size packages.  I want to celebrate a gift that came in a 6 foot 4 inch package and honor the man who gave it.  The gift itself could be held in the palm of a hand, but it changed the lives of two men and earned the gratitude of a family.  In February 2008, our son-in-law, Chris, stepped up to donate a kidney to his step-father, Ed, even though it would be unusual that they would be a match.  Ed was on dialysis and in need of a kidney, Chris volunteered to be screened.  He was accepted and proved to be a match.  Chris approached the transplant as matter of fact as he could, he believed he could make no other choice.  Ed needed it, he had it, - you do what you have to do.   But the fact is Chris saved Ed’s life.  Healthy today, Ed is a living testimonial that special gifts can come in very large packages.  Christmas came early this year for Ed, Chris, his Mom and their family, and truly is their Best Christmas Ever!   We are all connected.

Gift giving is a tradition that connects us to family, friends and strangers alike.  Each year our family buys an extra something; a scarf or a pair of gloves, and we wrap it with no tag.  It stays in the back of our car until we happen upon a stranger and we share the gift.  Not all presents are neatly wrapped under a tree, sometimes the gift is in the giving.  What will you give this year?

Until our next blog – remember life is an adventure, embrace the journey.  You can make a difference one day at a time. 

Share your adventure with us!           

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